Scaling biochar-based carbon removal in the agricultural sector requires solutions that work with farmers’ realities rather than against them. This project demonstrates that while service-based business models struggle under operational and economic constraints, decentralized pyrolysis heaters integrated into farm heating systems offer a viable pathway. By combining on-farm heat generation, durable carbon sequestration, and a targeted financing and certification approach, this model delivers benefits for all parties involved and helps overcome key barriers currently preventing the market from scaling. The outcome of this Transformative Project is a concrete, investment-ready proposal for Fondation Valery, a Swiss foundation and philanthropic venture partner, that enables the effective scaling of biochar-based carbon removal in the Swiss agricultural sector, strengthens farmer resilience, ensures high-integrity carbon removal, and can be replicated beyond Switzerland, thereby potentially unlocking millions of tonnes of CO₂ sequestration.
Biochar-as-a-Service and Beyond: Business Models to Scale Biochar-Based Carbon Removal in the Swiss Agricultural Sector
Advancing biochar-based carbon sequestration in Swiss agriculture requires a clear understanding of which business models can deliver impact under real-world conditions. The project began by mapping the current market landscape and distinguishing three dominant archetypes: centralized, semi-centralized, and decentralized stationary approaches, as defined by the students. The key question was whether a Biochar-as-a-Service (BaaS) business model could be integrated into this market landscape. In this model, a service provider owning a mobile pyrolysis unit would bring it directly to farms, enabling both the conversion of the farmer’s on-site biomass into biochar and monetizing the resulting carbon credits. The analysis showed that, under current market conditions, BaaS is not economically viable in Switzerland, as reaching profitability would require a higher concentration of participating farmers than what the market research revealed. In addition, operational constraints, such as high time demands, further limit the feasibility of this model.
As a consequence, the project focus shifted to alternative pathways, identifying decentralized stationary solutions, specifically pyrolysis heaters integrated into farm heating systems, as the most promising investment opportunity for the objectives of Fondation Valery. These systems simultaneously produce renewable heat and biochar, offer competitive heating costs, and enable on-farm carbon sequestration. However, the research revealed that their broader adoption is currently limited by two structural barriers: high upfront investment costs of roughly CHF 60’000 per unit for farmers, not including site-specific installation expenses, and the lack of a carbon credit certification standard tailored to small-scale climate projects in high-income countries such as Switzerland, which would allow the monetization of the sequestered carbon.
To overcome these barriers, the student team proposed a dual-investment model that combines targeted catalytic lending with a grant. A grant in the lower five-digit range, channeled via myclimate to Carbon Standards International (CSI), supports the development of a dedicated certification standard applicable to pyrolysis heaters. In parallel, a loan in the lower six-digit range enables myclimate to finance the installation of pyrolysis heaters on eight farms, creating an initial project pipeline large enough to kick-start market development. Loan repayment is structured through forward contracts for high-quality carbon credits generated by the pyrolysis heaters over a period of approximately five years.
The proposed model delivers clear value for all parties involved: Fondation Valery advances durable biochar-based carbon removal in the Swiss agricultural sector while securing high-quality carbon credits to offset parts of the emissions from its investment portfolio; participating farmers benefit from reduced capital expenditure for their new heating system, competitive energy costs, and access to affordable biochar; myclimate strengthens its climate project development activities; Pyronet secures the deployment of eight of its pyrolysis heaters with significant expansion potential; and CSI completes its carbon credit certification standard for small-scale projects in high-income countries, thereby gaining a first-mover advantage in a nascent certification segment. By providing catalytic capital at a critical juncture, the project unlocks a new pathway for small-scale biochar carbon removal in high-income countries – one that could sequester more than 2.2 million tonnes of CO₂ annually if scaled to just 1% of European farms.
Students: Felix Hatzold, Noah Graf, and Daniel Dieckmann
Company’s supervisor: Yannick Ritschel from Fondation Valery
Academic supervisors: Adrian Dellecker
Transformative Projects’ Lead: Samuel Wicki